Game On
by 1848EllisBell
Summary: A S2 multi-chapter AU response to Lou's Prompt: In Den of Thieves, Castle doesn't give Demming the all-clear to pursue Beckett.
1. Chapter 1

**Prompt from Lou: _In Den of Thieves, Castle doesn't give Demming the all-clear to pursue Beckett_**

**I thought,_ easy! 1k max. Yeah!_ And then I started writing - and the story had other plans.  
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**The rough 1st draft is finished, so I'll update as quickly as I get the chapters edited :)**

** Story picks up mid-ep, and then goes AU.  
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**Reviews not necessary, just enjoy. **

* * *

Castle dropped his gaze as the interaction he'd just witnessed sunk in. It was two professionals making plans to go through evidence together in the morning, that was all. Except, it didn't feel like that at all. From the soft smiles Beckett had graced Demming with, to the way the robbery detective's eyes had followed her, left no doubt in Castle's mind that any further interaction between the two would involve less talking, and less clothing. And-

-why was Demming still sitting beside him? Castle's heart sunk like an anvil to the pit of his stomach, and he moved to stand, to get out of there, leave that man and his own heavy heart behind, and just scrub it all from his brain.

"Castle, can I ask you something?"

If he'd known Demming had plans to permanently burn the images into his mind he would have moved faster. He wouldn't have paused at the sound of his name, wouldn't have sat back down and listened.

Castle met the man's eyes, and gave him an involuntary, small nod that went against his instincts to run - and the cold hunk of metal that had once been his heart settled permanently in its new home.

"You and Beckett, is there, uh, something going on?"

He swallowed, forced himself to keep his tone even and his body language casual. "Me and Beckett?"

"Yeah."

_Yes. No._ "Not yet," he replied, surprising himself with his courage.

"Not yet?" Demming asked, his tone showing his own surprise at the answer. "So you like her?"

"Hard not to," Castle admitted, lifting one shoulder in the smallest of shrugs.

"Yeah," Demming agreed on a puff of air, and for a moment the two men sat in silent, contemplative, understanding. For just a moment they felt a connection to one another, but then competitive natures kicked in, and any empathy faded. "She seeing anyone?"

_No. Me, in my dreams, every damn night. _ "Not to my knowledge."

"And does she return your feelings?"

"Beckett's hard to read," Castle told him carefully, unwilling to give the man the answer he was hoping for. "She's not the kind of woman you just walk up to and ask out."

Demming pushed himself to his feet, and a hint of pity shone in his eyes for the pathetic excuse of a man before him. _Not cowards, perhaps_, but he kept that thought to himself. To Castle, with conviction, he said, "We'll see."

"You're gonna ask Beckett out?" Castle asked, his tone harder now.

Demming spread his hands out before him. "Doesn't seem like you're in a hurry to."

"She's- It's complicated."

"Listen, Castle, I didn't come here asking for your permission. Just wanted to make sure she wasn't already seeing someone." With that, he turned and exited, leaving Castle alone in the room.

Violent surges of regret rose within the writer. He couldn't let Beckett be wooed by Demming's charms, couldn't lose her to that smug, arrogant, bastard. Standing, he fixed a fierce glare on Demming's retreating form and muttered with determination into the empty room, "Game on."


	2. Chapter 2

**Reviews not necessary. I have alerts turned off, so I won't see them anyway. **

**Here's Ch2:**

* * *

Castle was barely inside his home when he was fishing his phone out of his pocket, unable to wait a second more, unwilling to. He breezed past Alexis, setting up the table as he had been expecting, his plan now firmly in place in his head.

"Dad?"

He glanced over at her, phone in one hand, thumb poised to swipe across the screen. "Yes, pumpkin?"

"You okay? You seem distracted."

"Just thinking."

She looked concerned, and gestured at the table. "You promised me a second poker lesson, but if tonight's-"

"And I will stay true to that promise," he assured her quickly. " Just trying to rustle us up another player."

Alexis frowned. "Gram's at rehearsals tonight." Her eyes grew wide, and her hands stilled. "You don't mean- I'm not ready-"

"Relax," he said gently. "Just Beckett."

Alexis smiled in relief.

He dropped a kiss to her forehead. "Set it up, order us some Chinese for three, and I'll join you soon."

Leaving his daughter to organize dinner, he moved into his office, selected her name on his contacts, and waited.

"Beckett," she answered crisply.

"Good evening, Detective."

"I'm tired, Castle, this better be good."

Castle sat back heavily behind his desk, and swung his feet up on the flat surface, the phone tucked securely between his ear and shoulder. "So no plans for tonight then?" he asked casually.

"Uh, no, just sleep, really," she told him. "Why?"

He smiled at the suspicious edge to her tone. Oh, if only she knew. "Alexis is on her second lesson in the basics of No Limits Texas Hold 'Em, Mother's unavailable, and we need another player. And I know how lethal your poker face is. So whaddaya say? Join us?"

"I-"

"Alexis requested you personally," he threw in, before she could say no.

There was silence for a moment down the line, before, "Oh sure, why not."

"Excellent," he proclaimed. "See you at six, bring the gummi bears."

He ended the call before she could protest that it was already 5:45 and gummi bears weren't dinner.

* * *

It hadn't been quite the game of poker Beckett had been expecting, not with Alexis stopping every minute or so to write in her notebook, or look up a rule she wasn't quite one hundred percent on. It was trying, and that was only how she'd describe it if she was being polite. But Castle kept her wine glass full, and the lulls in the game gave her an opportunity to pick up her chopsticks and snag an egg-roll.

"Don't smile when you have a good card. You need to develop poker face." He turned and gestured at Beckett, her mouth full of egg-roll, cheeks puffed out like a chipmunk. "Like Beckett's," he finished, trying to suppress the smirk.

She wanted to smack him; she needed to swallow first, or risk choking. Washing down the food with a mouthful of wine, Beckett turned to Alexis and schooled her features.

Alexis took note of it, waved a hand in front of her own face to clear it of emotion, and mimicked the blank expression Beckett was holding. But knowing she was holding good cards the teen wasn't quite able to dim the smug spark of victory in her eyes.

"So what've you got?" Beckett asked Castle, still able to see the shining light of glee in Alexis' eyes, feeling confident he was about to lose to his daughter. Again. The pile of gummi bears in front of Alexis on the table was proof enough of her skills, and Kate had lost track of everything the teen had scored off her father before he'd groaned in despair and switched to the candy.

"Pair of ladies," he replied, looking first at his cards, and then at the two women sharing the table with him. "What have you got?" he asked them both.

Beckett laid her cards face down and shrugged sadly. "Can't win 'em all." Ignoring the knowing gleam in Castle's eyes, she placed a carton of fried rice on top of the cards, and finished off what little remained in the bottom of the box with a couple of sweeps of her chopsticks.

Alexis slammed her cards down joyfully. "Boom! Two cowboys! I win. Who's the daddy now?"

"She wins like her grandmother," a sullen Castle told a smirking Beckett.

"So, it looks like I owe you one night of solo dish duty," Alexis announced, "and you owe me four days of bed-making duty, three spa treatments, two pairs of sunglasses, and a Bulgari purse for Gram."

"Wow," Beckett said, smiling. "She's really taken you to the cleaners, Castle."

Castle released a sigh. "I think it's time to call it a night."

"But Dad-"

"Quit while you're ahead," he told his daughter gently.

"I'll help you clean up," Beckett replied, pushing her chair back and collecting the cards, officially putting an end to the lesson.

"Thank you for the gummi bears, Detective Beckett," Alexis said kindly, accepting the night was over, but still beaming from her win.

"No problem, congratulations on your haul."

"Thank you." She turned to her father. "I promised Paige I'd call her tonight."

"Try not to let that win change you," Castle advised her.

"Never," she replied, before sauntering off up the stairs.

Beckett smiled and popped a couple of her own gummi bears into her mouth. "I see why you asked me to bring these," she told Castle between chews.

"If you hadn't I'd probably owe her a car."

Beckett nodded in agreement. "Thanks for tonight, Castle. It was fun."

"It was frustrating, but thank you for putting up with it."

"No problem," she said genuinely.

"We should do it again sometime."

Beckett smiled shyly. "We should."

"Tomorrow night?"

She held the deck of cards and met his eyes. "What?" she asked in amusement, before passing him the cards. "Tomorrow?"

"Yeah, you know we've been working together for a year now, we should celebrate that milestone."

"The milestone of me not having shot you yet?"

"Yeah, that one."

"I think we missed it already."

"March ninth, so we're a month late. Come for dinner tomorrow, Alexis and my mother would love to have you over."

"Didn't we do that tonight?"

"Not egg-rolls and fried rice eaten over two hours while we try not to tear our hair out in frustration at the speed of a poker game," he said, smirking. "A proper meal, home-cooked, no gambling."

"Um," she faltered. "To celebrate a year of putting up with you? That had better be some meal."

"Oh it will be."

"Okay, fine," Beckett said, accepting. "Tomorrow night? Sure." Carrying the empty Chinese cartons to the trash, she then reached up to retrieve her coat from the hook it hung on.

"You're leaving?"

Beckett turned to him, coat slung over an arm, and nodded.

"But the night's still young," he said, stepping up to her. "Coffee?"

"Why the determination to keep me here?" she asked, narrowing her eyes in suspicion.

"No, no determination," he said quickly. "It's polite to offer guests a coffee."

She wasn't convinced, but exhaustion crept in. "Remember earlier when I said I was tired? I meant it." The evening had been fun, despite the pace of the game, but now she wanted nothing more than to go home, soak in the tub, and sleep. Home. Bath. Bed. It sounded glorious.

Instead of arguing, he carefully lifted her coat off her arm, and then held it out to her. Grateful that he had accepted her exhaustion, she turned, and allowed him to help her ease into it, her smile growing a little bigger when his large palms rested on her shoulder just a little longer than necessary. Biting on her lower lip, Kate tamed the smile a little, and turned back to face him.

"Night, Castle."

"Until tomorrow," he replied, standing before her, holding her gaze.

She dipped her head, dropped her gaze to sever the connection, and exited his home, feeling a strange buzz inside her that she swore was just the wine. But as she stepped into the elevator a voice inside her whispered, "It's because of Demming." And even in her tipsy state she couldn't deny there might be truth in that.


End file.
